Urzila Carlson's life has been anything but ordinary.

She didn't decide to become a comedian until she was 32, having lived quite the life prior. Now, Urzila has established an incredible career for herself, with a massive fan base both in New Zealand and Australia.

With a judging role on The Masked Singer and regular appearances on Have You Been Paying Attention, Urzila is one hilarious person.

On the latest episode ofMamamia'spodcastNo Filter, Urzila discusses everything from her family, to the decision to emigrate to New Zealand, to the jokes she chooses not to tell.

Watch: Kick arse comedians at Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Post continues below.

Urzila Carlson's childhood in South Africa.

Urzila Carlson grew up in the same town as Hollywood actress Charlize Theron, roughly 30 minutes away from Johannesburg.

In an interview with the NZ Herald, Urzila shared her family's experience of escaping from her abusive father when she was around seven years old.

"Dad was drunk, and he was looking for us with a gun. He actually fired some shots in the street. We ran out the back door to our neighbour's house and hid in a wardrobe. Mum was in the other wardrobe. Dad came in looking but couldn't find us. Our neighbour snuck us into his car and drove us out of town, laying on the floorboards with blankets over us."

Urzila, her mum and her siblings then started a new life for themselves in a different town.

By the age of 24, Urzila was the production manager for South Africa's largest newspaper group with over a dozen newspapers and six magazines. But the job came with its own set of challenges.

"In South Africa, the government controls the media. The new government still does. We used to get death threats on the phone, and from the caller ID, we could tell it was coming from the police station," Urzila shared on No Filter.

Urzila Carlson on emigrating to New Zealand.

As for why Urzila decided to leave South Africa?

"There was so much going on at home, crime-wise. I was seeing this woman at the time and she had a five-year-old son: I just remember thinking to myself, I didn't want to raise a kid in this environment. In a schoolbook that he carried was a printed piece of paper stuck to the back, which had all the school rules written on it. It said things like, 'don't bring a weapon to class', 'don't assault anyone', 'don't sexually violate anyone'. It was hard to swallow," Urzila shared onNo Filter.

After her house got burgled while she was in it, a smash and grab on her car at the traffic lights, and an armed robbery at work, it all became too much.

So, in her late 20s, Urzila decided to pack up her life in South Africa and emigrate to New Zealand.